COOTS
On March 2010, undocumented youth in Chicago organized one of the largest rallies at the time to bring visibility to the immigrant community. Although doing so meant risking deportation, sources claimed that a thousand people marched on the streets that day chanting, “No papers, no fears, immigrants are marching here!” To those of us in the immigrant youth movement, March would become known as COOTS, or Coming Out Of The Shadows Month, in honor of this historic action. Fourteen years later, the undocumented community faces similar circumstances, as the discourse around our humanity is leveraged as political talking points in an election year.
Pedro and I often reflect on what it means to “come out” as undocumented. On the outside, it looks daring and inspiring. On the inside, deep within our hearts, it’s quite nerve-wrecking. Our movements can easily romanticize courage, but being expected to be brave and resilient 100% of the time can also feel exhausting. There’s no one, correct way to reveal the most difficult truth about ourselves. But in my experience, it can begin with a person who’d listen wholeheartedly, inviting me out of the shadows of fear and shame.
Who knows why our film’s US broadcast on PBS coincides with COOTS? For now, we lean on the generosity of our families, predecessors, and community who, like you, have supported us unwaveringly in this journey. (SH)
